Recovery
by GeekLover-BooksofPower
Summary: AU of the imprisonment of Elyan, Gaius and Gwaine. Mostly Gwaine because he's the best. Probably will be chaptered story, but might not if people don't want. Rated T for dark themes and if chaptered, it will probably be Arthur/Gwaine, so slash! YAY! Sorry for those who don't like man x man lovin'.
1. Chapter 1

**Heyy, It's me. Right, yeah. I am an awful person. I have writers block on my Avengers story, and the next chapter for my other Merlin story is ,oving slowly, so I made this, and I have another chapter ready in case anyone wants more. **

**I should tell you this is AU of the imprisonment of Elyan, Gaius and Gwaine, and is darker than the original. If I make it longer,it will probably be slash, like my other story between Arthur/Gwaine sooo...don't hurt me if you don't like.**

**It might link in with my other story, but you don't need to read that. Anyway, I present to you, Recovery. (Name will be changed if only a oneshot.) Italic is flashback in case you are wondering.**

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"_You're going to dance for us, Gwaine." _

Sobs wracked his body as he recalled his imprisonment.

"_What? You want me to fight? I though you would challenge me, Lady Morgana?" _

What kind of joy did a person get from watching torture?

"…_Fight? Sir Gwaine, I said you will _dance _for us." _

He could still feel them on him.

"_Sir Galarran? It seems our guest doesn't know how to dance. Why don't you teach him?"_

All those hands: touching his hips, and his legs, and his arms, and his face.

"_Listen to the Knight scream! Oh, how broken we have made him!"_

But he wouldn't change it.

"_Clean him. Give his 'friends' food for the night, and let him rest."_

If it meant saving the ones he had come to love as family.

"_You will have him again tomorrow."_


	2. Chapter 2

**So, here is chapter 2. I am currently writing chapter 4, and won't publish 3 until 4 is complete, so that I have a spare chapter in case I want to change some details. Anyway, nothing belongs to me, and nothing ever will, and I feel like crying. Enjoy chapter 2, and the they will probably be OOC because I am terrible at fanfictions and I suppose thats why they are _fan_ fictions. **

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Elyan lifted his head weakly from where he was sat, next to the ill Gaius, as a noise came from the dungeon entrance. The physician wasn't doing so well, and without food, he definitely wouldn't last much longer. Elyan wondered where Gwaine had been taken and hoped greatly that he wasn't being too badly tortured; because they wouldn't take him just for a chat. Footsteps approached his cell, and he braced himself just in case he was taken again. But fortunately, that wasn't the case as when the cell door was opened, a beaten Gwaine was thrown in. The knight stumbled to the wall and slid down. The door was closed with a bang, but not before rotten pieces of bread was 'passed' to them. There wasn't much, enough for only two of them. Elyan scrambled to pick them up and offered to some to Gwaine, but the other knight shook his head and shrank into the corner of the cell.

"Gwaine, you need to eat." Elyan said.

"So do you and Gaius, and you need it more than I do." Gwaine replied. His voice was emotionless and Elyan was not afraid to say it scared him. He narrowed his eyebrows in confusion to his behaviour, but complied as Gwaine was right.

"Fine. Will you tell me what you had to do to get this?"

"Dance."

"What?"

"She made me dance. For herself and her men. I must have been good, they seemed to enjoy it." Bitterness seeped into Gwaine's tone.

Elyan studied Gwaine and took his condition in horror. He could tell what he had meant by enjoy just by observing him. He had no shirt on, so Elyan could clearly see the bruises shaped like fingers developing on his arms, waist and shoulders. There were cuts all over his body and his lips were swollen and red. Blood was slowly pooling around his upper legs, his trousers ripped to mid-thigh. "She's sick. The bitch is messed up."

Gwaine chuckled. He stopped abruptly and hissed as he jostled what must have been a bruised rib.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Arthur will be back soon. The others will come and they'll stop her." Elyan commented, feeling suddenly tired and drained. He wanted to sleep, but he didn't want to see what was waiting for him in the dark.

"Of course. They always come, of that I have no doubt." Gwaine glanced at Elyan, seeing his eyes were drifting closed and he was falling asleep. "I just hope they won't be too late." He whispered under his breath, slowly falling under the spell of sleep himself.

But what either of them failed to notice was that Gaius had woken up when Gwaine had returned and heard everything that the two men had said, even the quiet, insecure comment of a broken knight.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am a horrible person, but with a little pushing from my sister, I have finally posted this chapter. I am very sorry about how long you guys have waited - if you even have - but here goes...chapter 3!**

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It had taken Arthur, the other Knights and Merlin another two days and nights to reclaim the castle and defeat Morgana. Which meant another two days and nights in which Gaius had not gotten better, (though not worse either), another two days and nights which Gwaine had to 'dance' for food for his cell-mates, another two days and nights which Elyan had to watch one of his closest friends slowly waste away because he refused to eat simply because he had earned the nutrients for them and not himself.

The rescue had not gone according to plan. The knights were to go in and get out with the others. They had not factored in the facts that one of them could not stand, and another did not want to be saved.

Lancelot and Leon had to make Elyan and Gaius lean on them, which was quite hard, considering Gaius was not even awake for any of the rescue. Then when Percival went to help Gwaine up, the latter had simply looked the former in the eye and bowed his head. Percival had knelt down to face him, but he did not look him in the eye.

"Gwaine, we have to go. We must meet Arthur and Merlin in the throne room. Morgana has been defeated." Now, Percival was not just pure brawn. He was quite smart, and observant and he noted how Gwaine flinched at the name of the witch. Gwaine remained silent and unmoving. "Please." The desperation in Percival's voice did nothing, but make Gwaine lower his head. "What happened to you?" No reply. "You won't go, will you?" Silence. "Fine. I'll stay with you, though." Percival declared, a tone of finality in his voice, and Gwaine looked at him in surprise. Percival gave a grin in return, and sat down next to him.

They spent over an hour in silence, Percival occasionally attempting to goad Gwaine into revealing something about what had transpired over his and his cell mate's capture – with no success. And not before long, Merlin had appeared at the open door of the cell. His face was drawn in confusion. Percival gave a small smile to him and nodded to Gwaine who had cowered in the corner and seemingly fell asleep. "He won't move."

"Have you tried carrying him? Arthur is wondering where you are. He's not particularly happy."

Percival seemed to think it over for a few seconds before standing up and put his hands on Gwaine's shoulder to turn him, so he could lift him.

Unfortunately, Gwaine woke up and began thrashing. "No! Please, not again! I'll do anything else. Please! No…no…Let me go!" Percival and Merlin had stepped back in surprise and horror.

"I think…you should go get Arthur." Merlin nodded his head quickly and rushed out of the dungeons in search of the king.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello. It's been a while. A loooong time, actually. Heh...well...um...sorry? So, did anyone watch the last ever episode of Merlin! What a shocker! I cried, I mean...Percy's face! Well, I won't keep you waiting:**

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Arthur was confused, to say the least, when Merlin had run into the hall, his face had pure shock written all over his face. Then he babbled on about screaming and fear and _Gwaine_, and the king just couldn't find the connection between them. He had really just wanted to get on with whatever he was going to do, (he couldn't quite remember anymore), and go to bed already. Unfortunately, his curiosity had gotten the better of him when Merlin had asked him to follow him. He was led down into the dungeons, which just added to the confusion. Then he heard it. The screams of fear. It started to piece together in his mind; why Merlin was practically incoherent, and why Percival and Gwaine had not shown up when requested. Arthur had thought the worst – or at least he what he guessed was the worst – that there were still enemies down in the dungeons and the two knights were severely, life threateningly injured, but he had refused that thought immediately. Leon and Lancelot were fine, and Elyan and Gaius were alive.

But the screaming.

He stood helplessly as Gwaine thrashed around. Percival was crouched by the wall; Gwaine had struck him when he tried to get close. He was so affected by the scene before him; he didn't notice Merlin repeating his name. "...thur? Arthur!" His attention was turned back to his servant/friend. Wide eyes met worried ones. "We don't know what to do, and Gaius is too ill to help us." Arthur took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, when he opened them, he quickly knelt down next to the panicking man.

"Gwaine? Gwaine? You need to calm down." He put his hands on either of his shoulders and pulled him close to his chest. "Ssh." He cupped the back of his friend's head and kept him pressed to his chest. They sat there for a few moments, Arthur rocking him, and Gwaine curled up in his arms. Soon, it became quiet and Arthur looked down to see Gwaine's breathing had evened out and had fallen asleep.

"Merlin, could you get the doors? I'm going to move him to his chambers. Try and stay quiet, please." He instructed. "Percival, get something to put on that eye and please dismiss the other knights." He was whispering in fear of waking the sleeping man. He picked him up carefully and they began to make their way from the dungeons. He was stepping carefully, as to not jolt the sleeping man in his arms. His biggest fear at the time was waking him and aggravating his wounds.

Not before long, they were in Gwaine's chambers, and Arthur set the knight down on the bed. Said knight stirred for a moment, then settled for a while. "Merlin, can you tend to his wounds? There seems to be blood everywhere."

"I can try, but I have never actually treated wounds of this extent without Gaius' help." The secret warlock gave the King an apologetic look. "He will be fine, Arthur. They might be bad wounds, but they are not life-threatening. As long as they don't get infected. Which they won't because I'll clean them. Of course there is still a-"

"Just get on with it, _please._"


	5. Chapter 5

**So, this is chapter 5 everyone. Remember, I own nothing. And, sorry for any spelling mistakes.**

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Gwaine woke up just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. His eyes fluttered open, and he sat up quickly, realising he was not in the cell anymore. Panic flared through him, wondering if Morgana and he army had gotten bored waiting for him to wake up, but then he remembered Percival sitting next to him grinning, telling him that they had won. He calmed down eventually, noticing he was in his own chambers. He looked next to him and his eyebrows rose when he saw his King in the chair, sleeping soundly.

Slowly, he slid out from under his bed sheets and made his way over to his cupboard after realising his clothes were still covered in blood. He peeled off his sticky shirt, hissing as he lifted his arms. He saw that he had bandages on covering his abdomen and arms. They also covered his legs. Picking up a shirt, he moved to pull it on over his head, but in doing so he aggravated one of his bruised ribs, making him whimper slightly. Suddenly, he felt hands touch his back, and he jumped away, shouting as he did so.

A blush crept up his neck as he realised it was Arthur, who was holding his hands up to calm him. "I'm sorry, Gwaine. I was only trying to help you."

"No, it should be me who apologises. I overreacted. I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's understandable. You went through something traumatic." Silence fell upon them. They were awkwardly facing each other, Gwaine hiding his body behind the shirt he failed to get on, and Arthur struggling to find something to fill the silence. "Um, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Of course." Gwaine forced a smile on his face. He turned around to pull his shirt over his head, accidentally giving Arthur a glimpse of some of the wounds on his back.

"What happened when you were captured, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Nothing…nothing serious. Morgana just wanted me to fight for food for Gaius and Elyan. She only gave enough for two people and the others needed it more than me. You should check up on Elyan. She tortured him for quite a while. It wasn't nice to listen to, and I'm sure it felt a lot worse."

"You mean, you haven't eaten since before you were taken?" If Gwaine had looked at Arthur's face, he would have seen disbelief and concern.

"I've gone longer. We were only held for two days." Gwaine had turned back, but he kept avoiding the King's eyes

"It doesn't matter if gone without having anything to eat for longer, it only matters that you eat now." Arthur grabbed Gwaine's elbow to drag him to the kitchens if need be, but Gwaine violently ripped himself from his grip.

"Please,_ please_, don't touch me." His eyes were squeezed shut, reliving a memory in his head, but Arthur didn't know what was happening. The knight's breathing had accelerated, and he was shaking.

"Gwaine...what's wrong? What happened in those two days?" Arthur was pleading now. He only wanted to help his friend who had saved his life so many times previously.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone right now." Nobody moved for a while. _"Please, Arthur."_


	6. Chapter 6

**This is a shorter chapter, sorry. Not much in it, but oh well. I'm probably moving this a bit fast. Remember, I own nothing.**

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It had been four days since Gaius, Elyan and Gwaine were rescued. Elyan had recovered quickly, the memory of the torture already in the back of his mind. Gaius' fever had broken on the second day and was healing quickly, especially with Merlin's magic helping him. Gwaine, however, seemed to be ignoring what happened during their captivity. He had obviously been trying to pretend nothing happened, telling, probably untrue, stories, drinking and joking with the other knights. He was doing a good job of faking it, too. After all, lying was the one thing he could do well. Or so he told himself.

Gaius was up and walking by the time Merlin got back that evening. The young warlock smiled at his mentor and friend. "Feeling better, then?" He asked, putting the basket he was carrying down on the wooden table.

"Much, thanks to you." Merlin's smile grew wider at the praise. After a few moments, Gaius spoke up again. "How are Elyan and Gwaine?" He asked, remembering some of the conversation the knights had that he had heard in his fevered state.

"They seem to be doing better, too." The servant thought for a few moments. "Though I do wander what went on then sometimes. Gwaine seems a little more jumpy than usual, but I suppose that's understandable. He also has an awful limp that often leaves him looking uncomfortable."

"Oh, I could make something for him if he wants."

"I'll talk to him then." Merlin promised.

"Actually, I'd like to talk to him myself, if that's ok?" Gaius asked. Merlin raised his eyebrow in question, but said nothing. He nodded and hummed in agreement.

"Alright, if you want to. Elyan and he will be here in a small while anyway. Arthur has sent them both for a check-up of their wounds, and, if you're feeling up to it, you could do it. I know how much you enjoy your job." Gaius shot him a look, to which Merlin laughed loudly. "I'm sorry; Arthur had me doing a lot lately. Morgana messed up a lot of the castle, which kind of defeats the point if you want to rule it. I mean, she didn't have to set the kitchens on fire."

"If I remember, which I do, the kitchen was set on fire _before_ Morgana took control of the castle." A laugh made its way out of both of them. "Go, I'm sure Arthur is waiting for you."

Merlin nodded and left the room, almost bumping into Elyan on the way out. Said knight dipped his head in greeting and entered the room, followed by Gwaine. Gaius looked them over before gesturing for them to sit down. He observed that while they both looked exhausted, Elyan and Gwaine's wounds seems to be healing well. Gaius saw the former wince as he sat on the bench next to Elyan, who looked at him sympathetically.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for what was most likely going to be an exhausting conversation. "Hello, and how have you been?"


End file.
